Labour will not be able to afford scrapping the two-child benefit cap if it wins the next election, Keir Starmer has said.
The Labour leader told STV News that while he was committed to ending child poverty he would not make promises he couldn’t afford.
Speaking during his general election campaign launch in Scotland on Friday, he was asked whether he listened to Scottish Labour’s calls for the two-child limit to be scrapped.
“Of course,” he said, “and Anas and I discussed it because he and I are both committed to eradicating child poverty.”
Pressed on whether that would mean ending the Tory policy, he said: “What I will do is only make promises I know we can afford.
“It is not our policy for a reason. We are not going to be able to afford to scrap it because of the damage the Tories have done.
“It doesn’t mean we won’t have an anti-poverty strategy for children across Scotland.”
Starmer said he would not make promises “I know I can’t deliver” but said he “promised” to “deal with poverty”.
He said Labour’s policy of a Great British Energy company based in Scotland would bring jobs to the country and that his party would “make work pay”.
Starmer’s refusal to commit to ending the two-child benefit cap has caused disquiet among some Labour members and clashes with Scottish Labour’s policy.
Getty ImagesParty leader Anas Sarwar has said he would pressure any future Labour government to ditch the limit.
Introduced by the Tories in 2017, it prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit for third or subsequent children.
There are exceptions for women who have been raped but they would have to disclose the crime to the government in order to qualify.
Opponents have labelled this the “rape clause”.
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